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Dog proof flooring

I didn't get to choose the floor coverings with my cheap house and land package, so I ended up with cheap carpet. And 6 months on, I'm already well fed up with it. Even though it is low pile synthetic, I am having trouble getting pet stains out with my carpet shampooer. And it already has multiple loose threads too.

So as soon as I get some money, I'm replacing it. I was going to do laminate as a cheap option, but my research shows that the cheap stuff won't cope with the pets either. It will get scratched and can't cope with moisture so toilet training foster pups would also be an issue. Has anyone had laminate with indoor dogs?

The best option seems to be bamboo. If I drive to Sydney, I can get some cheap deals and then find a tradie to lay it for me here. Our living areas are only 25m2. Does anyone have bamboo floors?

Any other suggestions for pet proof floors in the same price range? Bearing in mind the house is built on a concrete slab and it gets bloody cold here in winter.

in our last house we had floating timber over a concrete slab. It was the best and toughest flooring ever! dogs claws, cats claws and furniture couldn't hurt it. Highly recommended!

"He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion" Author Unknown

We have bamboo in the whole house. We bought it really cheap from Bunnings and got a tradie to lie it for us. I think about 100 sqm cost us $ 5000ish all together. It's ok... but it also doesn't cope with moisture. We had to move Neros waterbowl from the kitchen into the laundry because him splashing around caused the bamboo to swell up quickly.

4 years into it it starts to look a bit worn. It scratches really easily. A big grain of dust caught in the vaccuum cleaner will give it a scratch. It also doesn't cope too well with heat and UV rays. Gaps start to appear in between the planks and the edges of the planks look a bit tired. I'm not overly worried because you can polish and treat it just like wood so if it becomes really ugly we'll do that. But I think if I had a choice again I'd invest a bit more and go for timber floors. If you buy them recycled they're actually not a lot more expensive. And if it was really too dear I think I would go for sisal flooring in the bedrooms and timber in the living area or so.

I also quite like the look of polished concrete... with some nice rugs on top maybe?

Love the look of polished concrete ! But - there are still problems with that - with what is used to seal it ! So you really have to do your homework on the companies that are offering this.

I have tiles in most areas in my place - and they work very well and have handled the pups and the rest that has happened over the years. Then carpet in the bedrooms. It is a wool blend - and after 16 or so years - still looks good.

Wooden floors - whatever variety - I found really noisy - and as 'margoo' says - they are not really long lasting - particularly bamboo.

All I can suggest - is put up with a bit of inconvenience now - save up your pennies - and in a few years - then make some changes. Doing stuff on the cheap and without appropriate homework - will always come back and bite you on the bum !

Also - as it a brand new house and brand new inclusions - there must be warranties and guarantees associated with all this.

We have engineered hardwood flooring and I do not recommend for inside dogs. It scratches soooo easily which is why our guys aren't allowed inside anymore. My best and safest bet would be tiles personally. Easy to clean and hard wearing. Not sure on costs though.

I wonder if there's different qualities of bamboo too? I read that it needs to be exactly 6 years old to be at its hardest and that the cheaper brands are often harvested early.

We're not going to live in this house very long, so I don't particularly care too much about how long it lasts. But I don't want it to look terrible when we sell... I'll have to do some more research. Especially on whether some varieties are more water resistant than others.

And no warranty on dirty carpets. Or it being cheap and nasty really.

Tiles could be an option. The good thing with it being such a small area is that it will be possible to buy leftover stock quite cheaply.

When the builder did the handover for the house, you should have been given a folder detailing all the items in the house, brands, how things work, how to take care of stuff and cleaning, guarantees and warranties to do with specific items.

Did you get one of those and have you had a look in it ? Just some suggestions – to try and save you some money !smiley-eatdrink004.gif

I have stone tiles. they were covered in some kind of layer of shiny stuff, but its now gone after 2yrs of washing it off. I wanted stone look, which to my way of thinking, is not wet.
it takes everything i throw at it. clumsy people and dogs, spillage, vomit, hair, stilettos, bleach, paint spilt, nailvarnish, all came off with nail varnish remover.
but maybe expensive. we were lucky, it added to the 'dog friendly' aspects of the place